If you’ve ever held a fussy baby in your arms and calmed her with the gentle touch of your hands, the soft movement of your breath or the warmth of your voice, you know the power of healing found in the tenderness, compassion and the essence and energy of a caring person.
Most of us have experienced healing touch at one point in our lives or another, either as the giver or the receiver, but in a world of western medicine where the body is largely seen as separate from the mind, heart and soul, many of us may often lack this essential part of care in the aftermath of an injury, illness or other physical ailment, said Colleen Ofsanik, a holistic health practitioner and director of Lovelight Healing Center in Grayslake.
In these situations, when injury or ailment persists or when traditional medicine doesn’t offer a solution patients find suitable for themselves or their family, they may find themselves craving the care, compassion and kindness of a skilled person who understands the intrinsic connection between body, mind and soul.
In those times of need, there is Ofsanik.
“Emotional healing is so important,” Ofsanik said. “It seems to me that practitioners forget the emotional and spiritual component of healing. It’s so important to provide those two pieces in order to achieve a true healing. Even if someone has a broken leg, there’s a component of emotion to that. Maybe that person is being held back from events or work or it’s just frustrating getting in and out of the car. All of it goes together.”
As a holistic health practitioner, Ofsanik has studied herbology, homeopathy, iridology, deep tissue lympathic drainage at Midwest Naturopathic College and craniosacral therapy with the Upledger Institute.
So what does all of that mean for parents and their little ones who are suffering in the aftermath of injury, illness or even from ailments like hyperactivity, anxiety, colic, or even stress?
It means having someone in your corner who not only listens carefully to her clients, but also someone who has studied extensively about the workings of the body that are often overlooked in traditional western medicine.
As a Craniosacral Therapists, Ofsanik and her daughter, Alicia, also a Craniosacral Therapist, work with everyone from expecting mothers to newborns to children and teens, and also mom and dad.
This mother-daughter duo helps clients not only by listening and caring, but also by working with the central nervous system, which is attached to the brain and all the nerves. Craniosacral Therapists help the body release bones from stuck positions as well as release the tension in the muscles and fascia, allowing healing to go deeper into the cellular level; this, said Ofsanik, helps make way for emotional releases.
“In training we learn that when there is an injury in the body an injury cyst develops at the place,” Ofsanik said. “There is often a release of emotional and physical pain that was stored there during therapy sessions.”
Often, Ofsanik said, this kind of emotional healing translates into easing the lingering physical ache of an illness of injury.
Ofsanik is the kind of person whose care and concern is easily felt when sitting in her presence, and her skill at working as a therapist on patients is evident from the kind of results she sees from her clients; Ofsanik notes that she sees results in everyone from her newborn clients to children to teens and their parents, and has helped her patients through the healing process when they are navigating ailments like depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, colic, migraines and even chronic illnesses like MS.
Some people naturally radiate compassion, but often we don’t always find these people at medical offices, which is ironically a time when we need extra kind and compassion most. In a world where compassion is less of the norm, Ofsanik shines as a caring therapist.
“I am a compassionate and empathetic individual, and I love helping people and helping them feel better,” Ofsanik said. “They are really the ones with the power; I’m just a facilitator.”
Lovelight Healing Center
408 Center Street, Grayslake | (847) 350-7000 | Facebook
Disclosure: Lovelight Healing Center is a Little Lake County paid advertising partner.
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